Part 2, Firenze after dark

Firenzie, after dark. Part 1

After a mediocre afternoon exploring our new neighborhood, we decided
to get away from our steamy hotel room and see what Firenzie night
life had to offer. There was no mention in our Rick Steves book (aka
Our Bible) so we were skeptical.

Less than two blocks away, we stopped in for a pre-dinner gelato. And
just like that, our Tuscan experience began anew.

Oops

I'm typing from my fingers. I'll make it quick this time. I hit sent
too soon on my last email.

We're in Florence.
It's still a million degrees.
We don't have A/C (we did it Roma, thank god).
We do have Wifi.
Our host doesn't speak English.
But she does speak Spanish. Gracias a dios!! I have three times the
vocabulary in Spanish as I do in Italian.

In a bit, we're off to see the David in Accademia. More later. Xoxo.

Sent wirelessly via AT&T iPhone

Trade off, Italian style

Ciao Florence!!

We almost missed our train out of Rome, but was able to sprint thru
the train station and jump on board. Mind you, it's still a million
degrees and we're now schlepping our 25 lb backpacks and a bag filled
with fresh fruit and home made sandwiches. Alora, long story short: we
made it on the train with minuti to spare.

Italia, Part due

Today was our last full day in Rome. 

 

We finally made it to the fresh market across the street from our bed and breakfast.  It was fun and exciting to interact with all of the fruit and meat vendors.  I'm glad we had three days of italian under our belt or the whole experience would have been way too overwhelming.  We walked away with some fantastic fruit, and the makings for some caprese salads and salami and cheese sandwiches.  YUM! 

 

After packing a home made lunch, we ventured out to the Borghese Gallery & Villa, followed up with a few -ah - interesting? churches (bones, weddings, etc, we'll post pictures later), then a nice relaxing stop at the Pza del Popolo.

 

We've stumbled across some more great experiences today - art exists on every corner (i.e. Church of Maria del Popolo... Bernini's and Carvevaggio's are literally HIDDEN in corners.  Plus, we had a quasi- celebrity sighting from a wine bar in the Pza del Popolo... we didn't know who the guy was, but italians were flocking to take pictures with him.  Very exciting stuff. 

 

After a little downtime, we wrapped up our Roman adventure with a night in Trastevere at a great restaurant off the beaten path.  Great food, memorable experience.  Then a walk around the hoping night life with the local Romans out on the town on a Friday night (seriously, I don't know how these women do cobble stones in such rediculous heels!!).  Now, back to home base for a good night sleep before starting all over tomorrow.

 

After three sweltering, non-stop days in Roma, we're getting ready to depart for Florence.  We have had a great time here... actually, better than I thought we would have, but we've seen what we wanted, and are ready for our next adventure.  Firenze - we're coming for you!

 

Buona Sera.  xoxo L&P

Roman Gangbusters

We have not stopped moving since we got to this amazing place. Some of it is just like I remember, other parts, I can't believe I've seen - my memories didn't do it justice.  We have powerhoused through Rome over the past 36 hours and have seen:

 

Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilica

Campo di Fiori

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Colusseum

Roman Forum

St. Peter in Chains

Emmanuel Monument

Capitoline Hill

 

It's crazy!  Things feel so close to eachother that we can't help but keep adding one more thing on before going home.  We've had some great food, better gelato and have altogether enjoyed eachothers company finding our way through the city.  There are free water fountains all through the city and the water is fresh, cold and tastes delish.  Good thing too because it's been a million degrees - we're both drenched in sweat, but there is nothing to do about it but wash off your face and neck at the next fontana and keep moving.  We had a close call though - the Roman Forum at high noon, without a fontana in sight.  I almost had a nervous breakdown, but alas, we found a WC offering a fresh water spout and some shade just in time to refresh, hydrate and hit the reset button to continue enjoying our day.  And all this - on another night of 3 hours of sleep.  I think I'm on 5 hours total since I woke up Tuesday am in my bed in Chicago. Tonight, I'm not taking any chances, after enjoying some downtime, we're going to enjoy a nice multi-course Italian meal, a bottle of vino, and a few sleeping pills if the mood strikes.  Buona Sera people! 

 

We love you all.  Thanks for your sweet notes in reply to our last post.  We'll stay away from the Roman Prisons, continue to enjoy ourselves, and eat as much pasta and pizza as we can stomach.

 

Tomorrow - we tackle the Mercado across the street, the Borghese Gallery and Piazzo del Popolo and whatever else strikes our fancy. 

We've arrived!

Just a little note telling everyone we have arrived safe and sound.  There was no sleep to be had on the plane.... Coach seats internationally - no good.  And no A/C!!  Poor Pietro was dying of the heat.  But we arrived into Rome without incent and found our B and B easily. Our B and B is wonderful - sweet proprietor took 20 minutes to walk through the buses we should take and the best places to visit.  We have a fresh market right across the street, the biggest in Roma, he tells us.  Now, we're off to shower, freshen up and off to Vatican City we go!

 

xoxo L and Z

It's official

I'm no longer thinking about work.  Vacation... here I come (soon)!! Now, if only I could just go home already and be on vacation already.  Sitting in this chair is killing me!

Technology is awesome

So, we're gearing up for our European Vacation, and one of those things we have to figure out is: how do we stay connected to you lovely people!! Via technology of course! We're planning on dusting off the wedding blog, and use it to post quick updates about what we're doing and where we've been - both to document it for ourselves, but also to keep you in the loop so you can follow our adventures from afar.

We've set up a few 'auto updates' that will send the posts directly to your email. If you got this post via email, you're on the list. If you'd rather not get the updates via email - let me know and I'll remove you. Updates will also be posted directly to the blog http://baker-to-zalinski.blogspot.com

Please keep in mind - if you reply to this email, it will go to my old email account. If you want me to see your email while I'm gone - send it to leah.zalinski@gmail.com instead.

Forgive the typos. You all know my spelling stinks, and to make it worse. I'm typing with my thumbs.

Look for updates starting Aug 25!! Bon voyage!

A Video Montage of the Special Day

For those of you who weren't able to share our special day with us, here is a quick highlight reel of the event. Enjoy!